Stargate: Neverwinter
by puiwaihin
Summary: SG-1 left one day through the Stargate to be lost in a shadowy accident. It was a year later that they returned, but a very different team. They had gone to a land of magic and power and returned with new strength, new allies, and magic. But will they be ready to face the challenges they brought with them from Neverwinter? AU Sequel to Stargate: Faerûn.


**Disclaimer and copyright information:** This story is an original work of "fan fiction"; the characters and settings used in this story are the intellectual property of their respective creators. _Stargate: SG-1_ and the characters _Jack O'Neill, Samantha Carter, Daniel Jackson, Teal'c_, and all concepts and characters related to the _Stargate_ universe are part of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Stargate franchise. Stargate SG-1 was created by Brad Wright and Jonathan Glassner, based on the 1994 feature film Stargate by Dean Devlin and Roland Emmerich. _The Forgotten Realms_ setting, rule set, spells, and the continent Faerûn in particular are the intellectual property of Wizards of the Coast. The city of _Neverwinter_ and majority of characters and events appearing in this story are adapted from the design presented by Obsidian Entertainment Industries in the official campaign of their game release Neverwinter Nights 2.

* * *

**Stargate: Neverwinter**

**Around 1 Year Ago**

_Colonel O'Neill nodded to the general and let him know they were well prepared with a characteristically flippant summary: "Right. So, go to the other world and make friends with everyone. Try not to make many enemies. Bring back good stuff. Don't bring back bad stuff. Try not to kill stuff, but if we got to we got to. Avoid dying as much as possible. I think we got it."_

_A sarcastic reply like that to a general and base commander would earn most soldiers some serious discipline. Fortunately, he knew that General Hammond knew that he had earned the right to get away with remarks like that. Instead of a reprimand, the general simply agreed but with a final reminder. "And don't forget to come back."_

_O'Neill nodded again, wryly. "Right." He turned towards the portal and threw his hand up as a sort of half-wave of goodbye. After thousands of missions, some of the thrill of departing across the galaxy had worn off._

_Up in the control center, the technicians began to dial the gate. The gate began to spin, the 39 unique symbols whirling around at an increasing pace. One by one, seven of the nine chevrons on the gate were engaged and locked in place. After the sixth chevron locked, the room began to fill with ambient energy until, finally, the seventh symbol was locked in place._

_When that happened, the empty space inside the ring was filled with an explosive discharge of energy and spatial distortion. The distortion field rapidly expanded out of the gate and then seemed to implode backwards like an underwater explosion. When it settled, the gate looked like it held a rippling pool of water suspended vertically in the air, but only in two dimensions._

_Major Carter was the first to step through the gate. From all appearances she was just walking into water. She was followed by Colonel O'Neill, then Daniel Jackson. Teal'c was the last to go through the portal, symbolically taking up a rearguard position._

_For an instant they each felt the sensation of being within an immense tunnel of energetic light and a disorienting sense of a loss of all directionality. Then they were decorporealized and their entire physical being converted into a form of energy. It was a feeling they had felt each time they had stepped through the Stargate, yet still something to which they could never fully get accustomed._

_That was when something went very wrong._

_Back in the SGC, just heartbeats after SG-1 stepped through the gate, the blueness of the wormhole suddenly turned pitch black. For just a moment, tiny tendrils of shadowy energy snaked around the Stargate like black lightning. Then it, the wormhole, and SG-1 were gone._

* * *

**Chapter 1: Reinstated**

A man with pure white hair despite a face that showed he could only be in his forties stepped out of the black sedan to the familiar sight of an automatic weapon being pointed his way. The man raised one hand, palm forwards, towards the camouflage wearing soldier in a gesture meant to show he was unarmed and ready to submit to the upcoming inspection. He presented his ID, which one of the many uniformed men around him took and inspected before handing it back and giving the order for the Marine guards to stand down. The weapons were lowered.

"Welcome back to Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Base, Senator Kinsey," the soldier said respectfully. "Please follow me."

Senator Robert Kinsey, an influential member of Congress and head of the committee responsible for the base's annual budget nodded and followed the man down the halls of the base. He had been to Cheyenne Mountain close to a dozen times since learning of the purpose of the base. He was now to the point that he was no longer awed by the incredible secrets housed within the near thirty levels of the base. In fact, he was in a position of power over the base and this trip he had come to exercise a bit of that power. He had a degree of control over something only a handful of people outside of those on the base knew. This mountain was a gateway to thousands and thousands of other planets.

He was in Stargate Command. And he was here to ensure that the team of soldiers and scientists known as "SG-1" never left through the Stargate again.

The soldier guiding him led him to an elevator that quickly descended down through the rock of the mountain. When it stopped, the doors opened and the Senator stepped out to be greeted by a bald man dressed in a plain work uniform, with two stars on his collar.

"Senator Kinsey," the man greeted.

"General Hammond," the senator responded politely. "I received word that you are going ahead with the reinstatement of Colonel O'Neill and his team?"

"That is correct, Senator. We've taken every possible precaution and done every possible test to ensure that they are exactly who they say that they are. I see no reason not to return them to active status."

"No reason, general?" Kinsey asked incredulously. "How about the fact that they are lying about where they've been and what they've done for the past year? If that's not enough for you, then how about the fact that they brought unauthorized aliens from another planet, another universe if you want to give their story any credibility at all, and callously disregarded the safety of this base in doing so?"

"A formal reprimand has been placed in their files over their failure to use the proper protocol in bringing in unauthorized personnel to this facility, senator, but under the circumstances, they didn't really have much choice in the matter." General Hammond saluted the guards standing between them and the next section of the base before stepping past them. "And as for SG-1's report, while I have to admit it is farfetched in many parts, they have provided evidence that corroborates their report."

The senator stood there in front of the general for a couple seconds in frustration. "I want to see them, general," Kinsey demanded. "You may have bought that ridiculous story about demons, dragons, and magic, but I don't believe it for one second."

"Of course, Senator. Feel free to ask them anything you want."

"I intend to. Let's start with Colonel O'Neill."

* * *

ST/\RG/\TE

* * *

Colonel Jack O'Neill was working out with another of the SG teams, sweat pouring off his body. Since being released from quarantine, he hadn't really had much of a chance to blow off steam. But he had to admit that taking on all six of them at once, bare handed, might have been biting off more than he could chew. He was having to work hard to keep the other soldiers from managing to grapple him to the ground. But he had to admit that it was kind of fun.

From the perspective of the SG team he as sparring with, the colonel seemed to have a sixth sense about where they would be attacking from. As one of them attacked, the colonel sidestepped while knocking those in front of him off balance with a series of well-timed kicks and spins. The man moved with an uncanny grace and perfectly timed every strike to keep them from being able to attack him in concert. They knew Colonel O'Neill was a legend around Stargate Command, as was every member of the original SG-1, but what they were seeing from him now was bordering on superhuman.

Of course, it was taking everything he had learned over the past year to keep ahead of the young Special Forces trained team. The ringing of a buzzer signaled the end of the exercise just as Jack decked another of the men who had charged in behind him with a well timed spinning back-fist. Jack stepped over and helped the younger soldier up from the ground while another one who he had sent sprawling earlier climbed to his feet on his own power. "I think we almost had you that time, Colonel. You were lucky that bell went off when it did," the young lieutenant said confidently, rubbing his back from where he had fallen. "We were just about to get serious."

In one smooth motion, Jack whipped out a throwing knife and threw it across the gym floor faster than anyone could track. There was a loud CLANG as he knife split the clock in half, striking the buzzer dead on. The SG team stared in shocked surprise.

"Is that so?" Jack asked with a falsely pleasant smile. "Well, I wouldn't miss seeing you guys in action when you were all serious. No more time limit." After seeing Jack's throw the soldiers hesitated for a moment.

That was when Jack saw one of his least favorite people, not counting alien infested maniacs or shadow summoning wizards of darkness. "Well, crap," Jack managed to mutter. Just when he was about to call off the spar the entire SG team he had been battling knocked him to the ground and dog piled on top of him.

Senator Kinsey's mouth nearly dropped open at his first sighting of the leader of SG-1 since the man's return to Earth. He was seeing Colonel Jack O'Neill, but the man looked at least a decade younger than he had the last time the senator had seen him. While Jack had kept himself fit and combat ready before, what the senator was seeing a man who looked back in his prime, not an aging soldier whose time taking part in operations was coming to a close. He had only gotten a glimpse of the team leader, but what he was seeing looked like the results of the Fountain of Youth. Jack O'Neill's hair was still graying, but in all other respects he looked younger.

Jack looked up at the Senator with a smile that in no way matched his feelings. "Well, hello there, Senator. I'd love to help you on your quest to discredit me and my team, but I'm kind of in the middle of something."

* * *

ST/\RG/\TE

* * *

Doctor Daniel Jackson looked at the stacks of ancient writings in front of him in frustration. The sheer volume of texts and artifacts from more than a dozen ancient, and possibly Ancient, civilizations brought back by the various SG teams over the past year was just staggering. It was going to take him months to catch up at the rate he was going, which of course he had to since it would take anyone else years if not decades to do the same work. A year ago he would have been thrilled at the opportunity to mine all these records for data about distant cultures and people. Now, though, he was just frustrated at just how slow the going was.

No other human, and few aliens, had Daniel's skill at looking at ancient writings and deciphering their meaning. He had a talent for it. He was exceptionally gifted at finding the social nuances of a culture embedded in writings and using those insights as the keys to unlocking the real intent and meaning of the messages. But as talented as he was, he still needed to first construct a sort of primer to match the new symbols with meaning in a known language when researching a completely new language. Without an existing primer, he had to rely on the collocation of symbols and meta-linguistic knowledge of grammar construction to piece together the rudiments of the language. And from there, it was speculative guesswork and piecing a massive puzzle together without knowing what it was supposed to look like.

Not that this wasn't a fun and challenging process for the anthropologist/linguist in him. It was just that the really juicy stuff only came after deciphering the language. And now it was going to take a long time. Which wouldn't have bothered Daniel if he didn't know there was a much easier way. If just a month ago he couldn't have simply cast a Comprehend Languages spell and simply written a primer, or better yet, just read the text in the original he wouldn't feel impatient with the scientific process. Now, though, he couldn't rememorize his spells after using them. Which meant he was stuck with a very limited selection of spells much more suitable to battling dark evil shadow-entities, and even those had been mostly depleted.

Daniel sighed. Ah well. He did have a way of speeding things up when his normal method of linguistics investigation was too slow. Daniel turned and lifted up a thick golden circlet from the shelf beside him and put it on his head. Immediately, he felt a sense of clarity to his thinking, his brain functions speeding up and making new, fresh connections he had not just seen. The golden headband was the best investment he had ever made.

"I see fantasies about dragons and magic are not enough, Dr. Jackson. It seems now you fancy yourself a king?"

Daniel turned his head to look at the man who had spoken. The linguist and archaeologist kept his expression perfectly neutral. "Senator Kinsey," he said by way of greeting.

The senator waited a moment to see how Daniel would react, but when he got no further response, he continued on. "So, do you intend on taking that crown home with you when you leave, Doctor? And do you often play with artifacts that are the property of the US government?"

"Well," Daniel said, adjusting his glasses, "first of all this is not a crown, but a circlet. And second, while I probably won't be taking it home any time soon, this item isn't actually government property. This is really mine."

The senator turned to General Hammond with incredulity on his face. Kinsey had not actually been serious about Daniel's handling of the crown, or circlet, only wanting to use that banter to throw the scientist off-balance and get him on the defensive. But hearing Daniel's response, he became outraged.

"Need I remind you, Dr. Jackson, of your contract with the United States Air Force? Any items or artifacts acquired by an SG team while on a mission becomes the property of the government. Just because you find something doesn't make it yours," Senator Kinsey said forcefully.

"That's quite true, Senator. All the technology and research we find on missions does go to the government. But you're overlooking a few key points," Daniel said, his face remaining expressionless and his voice taking on a lecturing tone. "First of all, our mission officially ended after we failed to make our check-in window and we were officially declared Missing in Action. Under the terms of protocol for teams stranded off-world without means of immediate return, we are instructed to fend for ourselves, which includes the acquiring of resources, resources which are considered personal property."

"A golden crown is not a personal resource, no matter what loophole you try to use. It's a historical and cultural artifact and-"

"No, it's not."

"No?" Senator Kinsey shot back. "And how do you figure that?"

"Because, I made it."

"Are you expecting me to believe that in your year of absence from Stargate Command that you somehow became some kind of goldsmith?"

Daniel took the circlet from his head and held it out to the senator, with the inside rim angled so that he could see it clearly. "Take a look for yourself."

Senator Kinsey peered closely, noting an odd script in a language he did not understand, before coming to a very short section of English. The senator's eyes narrowed when he read what it said: "_Crafted by Dr. Daniel Jackson_."

"As you can see, this was not made by some alien intelligence. It is not evidence of an ancient civilization. It's neither advanced _technology_ nor an artifact. I spent several months of my life living and working on another planet and during that time, I made this from resources I acquired as part of my survival. I filled out all the necessary paperwork with the Air Force, and after I was released, it was turned over to me as my property. Which means that unless you consider my having a metal circlet which I sometimes put on my head while I work a matter of national security, you don't have any grounds to seize it. So, if you don't mind, Senator, I've got a lot of work to catch up on." With that, Daniel made to turn back to the documents on his bench.

"If you think a name on a piece of jewelry is going to convince me that your cock and bull story is true, then you are in for a surprise. I'm not the kind of fool who believes any kind cock and bull story someone tells them."

"No, Senator," Daniel said turning back around with an annoyed look on his face. "You're a completely different kind of fool."

* * *

ST/\RG/\TE

* * *

"You seem to be giving SG-1 an awful lot of access to this base, General." Senator Kinsey strode beside Hammond obviously agitated. "If this is some kind of alien trap, planting sleeper agents among us, you may have handed over our entire defense system to the enemy."

"If this is an alien plot, Senator, it's probably the worst one they've ever come up with," Hammond retorted. "The ore samples that SG-1 brought back alone give us an incredible advantage we didn't have before. The technological applications of what they discovered on Toril will revolutionize our military."

The senator frowned. "What kind of advantage could this possibly give us? If their report is accurate at all, there isn't a Stargate for them to return to on the planet they arrived on. They can't possibly have carried enough back with them to make a difference."

"Unfortunately, you're right, we don't have any way to obtain more of the ore they brought back, at least without finding another world where it can be found," the general agreed. "But, SG-1 brought back more than enough for us to use for research and development. And if we can find a way to adapt any of the more exotic technology they brought back with them…well, let's just say it would be a good thing."

"What kind of exotic technology?" Kinsey asked, his curiosity coming to the fore.

"Hell if I know. But I've seen a bag that holds more than it rightly should, without getting heavier; a ring that can make someone invisible, a liquid which can heal wounds, and a ball of fire that can appear out of thin air," Hammond said. "SG-1 can't even explain what they brought back, and they're the ones who found it all. But we're doing our best to understand it."

"And who exactly do you have working on this?"

The senator and general made their way into the research lab. A half dozen scientists wearing lab coats were hard at work. General Hammond pointed to the technicians. "The very best minds we have available," he said. "That black metal over there is called 'adamantine'. It's stronger and harder than any alloy known to man. That silver-looking material that Dr. Werth is analyzing is called mithril. It has a much better strength to weight ratio than our most advanced titanium." General Hammond indicated the different scientists and their current research. "And then there is Major Carter."

The senator's eyes quickly fell on the blond-haired woman who was busy in the back of the lab. Standing behind her was a large metal figure that looked a lot like a suit of armor well over eight feet in height, with a long blade in place of one of its hands. Dr. Carter was concentrating on the armored head, peering into the eyeless helmet while holding a scanning device up to it with one hand. Her other hand held a computer pad which was displaying data it was recording from the scans.

"Just what is that thing, Major Carter?" Senator Kinsey asked.

At the sound of the voice, Samantha Carter turned around, her eyes momentarily showing her dislike of the person asking the question. But then she pushed the emotion aside and was all smiles as she gestured towards what she was examining. "That, Senator, is a Construct. Specifically, a blade golem. Designed expressly for combat."

"It's some kind of robot?"

"Conceptually the same, but with a technical distinction. A robot is a technological creation controlled by technological means, generally through computers. Golems, on the other hand, are created and controlled through mystical or arcane means."

"Doctor Carter," the senator said with tsk. "I am astounded that you of all people would give any credence to the concept of magic. As a scientist I would have expected more from you."

Carter faced the senator with a genuine smile on her face, not at all put out by the comment. "Believe me, sir, it took a long time for me to be willing to acknowledge the existence of magic. But eventually, I was really left with no choice. Especially with Daniel becoming a wizard."

Kinsey gaped. "Do you honestly expect me to believe that Daniel Jackson is a wizard?" the senator asked incredulously.

"Not really, but it's true. As hard as it was to accept, I had to face the facts. Especially since I'm a wizard, too." Carter smiled at the flabbergasted senator before she turned back to the Construct and began a brief chant that ended in her extending her hand towards the blade golem. A short yellow bolt of electricity leapt from her open hand to engulf the metal figure.

Senator Robert Kinsey stood in shock as if he were the one who had been blasted by bolt of electricity. Carter, however, was apparently very busy looking over readings on several nearby computer screens. A frown found its way onto her face. Another inconclusive test. And she had little magic left to use for testing.

"That…that was a trick!" the senator insisted as soon as he could recover. "You used some kind of alien device to make that happen."

Carter shook her head as she continued to go over the readings. "That's what I thought at first. I tried to discover what the underlying technology was. Nothing I could observe could explain what was happening. And after I started studying magic myself, I found I could not explain it in terms of any of the laws of physics I know." The short-cut blond gave the senator another smile. "Now that I have a proper lab I'm trying to understand the nature of how magic works in scientific terms."

"So, you think magic is just another kind of alien technology?"

Carter gave a slight shake of her head. "I don't know. Even if we eventually do discover what makes magic tick, will that make it any less magic?" Carter gave a little self-deprecating chuckle. "I'm beginning to sound like Daniel."

After a few moments of quiet contemplation, Senator Kinsey gave the Construct a once-over. "So, does this thing actually work?"

Samantha Carter smiled and stepped back. "Construct, give Senator Kinsey a salute."

The blade golem brought its massive blade up and swung it in an upwards arc, missing the senator by just a foot. Then the blade came to a jerking stop inches from the golem's head, slanted upwards in a salute. Then the blade slashed back sharply down and the Construct once again stood at attention.

General Hammond smiled as he saw the stunned expression on the senator's face. "Well, if that's all you have for Major Carter, she has a lot of work still to do. I assume you still want to see the others?"

* * *

ST/\RG/\TE

* * *

Tamil Farlong swayed to the rhythm of the Lou Bega's _Mambo No. 5_, timing her steps to coincide with the flow of the tune. She could imagine herself pounding orcs in time with the trumpeting of the horns, spinning with a flourish to face down more. She loved losing herself in power of the music here on Earth. She raised her arms over her head, closed her eyes, and let the music move her. There were so many new variations and instruments she had never heard before. Sure, most of it was lacking in purity and the refinement of her craft, but it made up for it in the adrenaline rush.

On impulse, Tamil suddenly spun in a half-circle towards the doorway of the room, letting her hair whip around behind her head and leapt forwards with her arms out wide. She suddenly found herself standing face to face with an aging man with a pale complexion and white hair. Senator Kinsey had just started to walk through the doorway when she had spun and leapt in that direction. The man stumbled backwards in surprise. Tamil, for her part, gave an embarrassed smile before hastening over to the CD player to turn the music off.

"Sorry about that," she said as she turned back to the surprised man.

The bald headed solder Tamil recognized as General Hammond stepped in behind the stranger.

"Senator, this is Tamil Farlong of the city-state Neverwinter. Tamil, this is Senator Kinsey, an important visitor from the government of the United States," he said by way of introduction.

Tamil gave the man a dazzling smile. "Oh, the big prick that Jack and Daniel were telling me about."

General Hammond coughed to cover his shock and possibly laughter. "I think you mean 'vip', Tamil. But usually we say it V. I. P." He turned to the senator who was just gaping at the woman he was standing in front of. "You'll have to pardon Ms. Farlong, she is still learning English."

Senator Kinsey stood just looking at the woman who had nearly knocked him over on his way in. She was perhaps the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, and as a senator, he had seen some beauties in his day. Tamil was elegant, with shoulder length ebon hair, skin so fair it looked as if it belonged on a Max Factor commercial, and electric green eyes. She moved with a grace that belied her strength, and had a disarming smile that left the senator momentarily unable to think. This woman was not at all what he had expected to find when he came to see the visitors from another planet SG-1 had brought with them in contravention of the rules.

"Uh…I trust you have been enjoying your stay here in Stargate Command?" Senator Kinsey finally managed to get out, plastering a faux smile on his face.

"Oh yes," Tamil said amicably, "aside from the first little bit where we were all locked up in separate observation rooms and poked with needles every few minutes." Senator Kinsey looked abashed at that, but Tamil continued before he could say anything. "I understand it was…protocol?" she said, looking to General Hammond for confirmation that she had used the right word. "Since then I've been treated well and I have not lacked for entertainment despite this confinement. Hopefully, I will eventually be allowed to leave this base?" she prompted.

Robert Kinsey was a family man with a wife, children, and grandchildren. That did not make him immune to the charms of a beautiful woman like Tamil. Especially one with training in enchantment and manipulation. "Well, um, I will see what we can do about that, Miss Farlong."

By the time he left the room, all thoughts of using her as a means of discrediting the reliability of SG-1 had flown from his mind.

"Hey, Tamil!" a rather high pitched voice called out. "Have you seen Daniel around, here recently? I haven't…" the voice trailed off as the rapidly approaching female took in Senator Kinsey. "Huh, someone new."

"Senator, I'd like you to meet Neeshka of Neverwinter. Neeshka, this is Senator Kinsey," General Hammond supplied.

The senator's reaction to Neeshka's appearance couldn't have been more opposite to his reaction to Tamil. "What the hell is that?" he demanded, "Some kind of devil?"

"Neeshka is not a devil," Tamil defended instantly. "She may be a little rough around the edges, but she is basically a good person."

Senator Kinsey pointed to Neeshka with a shocked expression. "She has horns on her head and a tail!"

And it was true. Neeshka was a lithe woman with a roguish attractiveness to her, but her most prominent features were the twin horns sprouting from her forehead and the flesh colored prehensile tail that swished behind her. What's more, while Neeshka's skin was smooth and clear, it was tinged with an orangish-bronze a shade darker than would be found on a human. Her flame red hair and blood red eyes did nothing to lessen her devilish appearance.

"How could SG-1 bring a _devil_ to Stargate Command!"

General Hammond shot the senator a cold look. "I thought you said you didn't believe in demons or dragons, senator." The general stared down the senator, who was trying to compose himself. "So which is it?"

"Oh, so this must be the prick that Daniel was talking about," Neeshka muttered.

"Oh, that's 'vip', Neeshka," Tamil corrected helpfully. "We must have heard Jack and Daniel wrong."

Neeshka's expression showed just how little she liked the senator's reaction to her. But after a moment, she let the expression soften and she walked right up to the man. "Don't worry, mister. I'm not going to bite you. Or stab you. Or torture you." She placed one hand on his shoulder as she drew uncomfortably close. "I save that for people who try to hurt my friends." She gave Kinsey a meaningful look. "You aren't going to try to hurt anyone I know are you?"

And just like that, she was walking past the senator, her tail barely brushing against his leg.

"Neeshka of Neverwinter," a solemn voice called out from in front of her. "Please return what you have taken to the senator."

Teal'c of Chulak strode down the hall toward the senator, general, and his two friends from Faerûn. His expression was calm and he walked with a sense of dignity.

"What do you mean? I haven't taken anything," Neeshka complained.

Teal'c shook his head. "You should know by now, my tiefling friend, that you cannot lie to Tyr, or to those who he has chosen. On this world taking the property of another is a far more serious offense than in Neverwinter, and far less tolerated."

Neeshka gave a pouting look. "Aww, come on, Teal'c! This guy's a jerk! Did you hear what he just said about me?"

"I did indeed, but that does not excuse the theft. Tyr does not balance justice by trading one wrong for another. We must seek to balance wrong with right."

"Yeah, but this guy is an enemy! They don't count!" Neeshka complained.

"Perhaps," Teal'c conceded. "The senator has been an adversary in times past. Nonetheless, we are not now in a battle nor is he a foe who can be overcome through slight of hand. Please return his things."

"Now look here—" the senator began to interject when he was silenced by a look from Teal'c.

Reluctantly, Neeshka turned back to the senator. Much to his surprise, she handed him back his wallet. Then his watch. His pen. His cellular phone. The change in his pocket. His glasses.

"Spoil sport," Neeshka complained to Teal'c. "I'll just go look for Daniel. He's a lot more fun." With that the tiefling sauntered off down the hallway, hips and tail swaying back and forth.

"So," Senator Kinsey began once Neeshka was out of sight, turning his attention to Teal'c. "First Apophis and now this Tyr character. I had thought you were no longer following false gods."

Teal'c nodded his head to the senator. "Indeed. I am now in the service of Tyr. However, do not confuse the Even-handed with the _gou'ald_. Tyr is a true god."

Kinsey looked at Teal'c with an appraising eye. Teal'c was tall and muscular. He had long been bald and previously bore the symbol of the _gou'ald_ Apophis engraven in gold upon his forehead. Now the dark skinned man was even more muscular, but in place of the gold marking, a natural looking blue tattoo of a set of scales was on his forehead. Even more radical than this physical change was the change in beliefs. Where Teal'c had once foresworn any allegiance to anyone claiming to be a god, now Teal'c was a true believer of this Tyr.

"And how do you suppose that?" Senator Kinsey asked. "How can you know Tyr is not just as false as Apophis was?"

Teal'c looked Senator Kinsey in the eye. "I know Tyr has true power because I feel that power within me. I know Tyr is a righteous god because I have seen what Tyr has done. Just as I could judge the evil and emptiness of Apophis by the darkness of his words and deeds, I can judge Tyr by the goodness of his teachings and the power he grants to combat evil."

"Sounds very convenient," Kinsey retorted.

"It has nothing to do with convenience," Teal'c replied. "It is about truth. Just as I can see the truth that you came to the SGC in the hopes of preventing us from resuming our missions. But I also know that you have seen that your reasons and accusations are false. Still, you cling to them, hoping to get your way. This is your test, your weighing. So, how will your judgment go?" Teal'c looked the senator in the eyes unblinkingly. "Even now you are being weighed by the scales of justice. Your choices are what will determine your fate."

The senator looked at Teal'c, then over to Tamil, then back over to General Hammond.

"I've seen enough," the senator announced.

* * *

ST/\RG/\TE

* * *

Colonel Jonathan "Jack" O'Neill stood at attention in his full dress uniform. Jack, as he preferred to be called, set his cool green eyes straight forward, as if oblivious to the uniformed general who walked around him and the rest of his team. Beside him was Major Carter, the blond haired Air Force officer standing with a similar stony stoicism and decorated uniform, not blinking at the inspection. On Jack's other side was a towering dark skinned warrior, Teal'c of Chulak, his features proud as he stood with his hand gripped on his _Ma'tok_ staff weapon and with a gaze that was unwavering. And on the other side of Teal'c was the last member of SG-1, Daniel Jackson, dressed in military fatigues and standing together with his friends and companions, the only one who fidgeted as the man who would decide the fate of their team passed by.

"Well," General Hammond said, his voice deep and serious, "we've put you through every test we could think of, and even some we couldn't, thanks to the Tok'ra. From all physical evidence, you are SG-1. And despite the impossible mission debriefing you gave us, you are all in your right minds. Though, for some of you that has always been a bit questionable." The general threw the quip in there to lighten the mood for a moment before returning to serious business. "But even after all the sessions you've had with our best doctors, even after all the interviews and debriefings, even after Senator Kinsey signed off on your return to duty, I'm still a bit hesitant to put you back out there. You are SG-1, but you're not the same team I sent through the gate over a year ago."

"General, if anything we're even more able to handle ourselves out there than before," Daniel interrupted.

"Perhaps, Dr. Jackson," General Hammond said raising a hand to forestall any further explanation from Daniel. "Despite my understandable misgivings, I've decided to reinstate SG-1 as an active team once more. I'm sure that you will repay the trust I'm putting in you. I'm expecting perfect performance on your next missions. That way when Kinsey brings your performance up for review, and he assuredly will, I'll be able to wipe the smug look off of his face."

That was something SG-1 could wholeheartedly agree with.

"Welcome back to active duty, SG-1."

* * *

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* * *

**Author's Note:** This is the sequel to Stargate: Faerûn. It is meant to stand alone without requiring any read back through to the previous story. Important events in the previous story will be presented through dialog, flashbacks, or narration.


End file.
